Month: July 2011

The Giants set their rotation for the second half. It’ll be Madison Bumgarner to kick off the four-game series at Petco Park that begins on Thursday. Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Matt Cain will follow. Ryan Vogelsong will pitch the next homestand opener on Monday, July 18, against the Dodgers. Continue Reading →

I asked Giants clubhouse manager Mike Murphy if he had time to apply stars to the back of Pablo Sandoval’s cap for tonight’s game, after the Kung Fu Panda was named to the NL All-Star team as an injury replacement.

“Oh, he’ll get ‘em tomorrow,” Murph said.

Not two minutes later, Sandoval walked up to Murphy with his game lid, asking a favor. He’s got the stars on there now, and he’s one happy Panda. He said when he was training all winter while shedding 38 pounds in Arizona, his trainers used the All-Star Game and the MVP award to motivate him. One down, one to go. Continue Reading →

Aubrey Huff gets to start his All-Star break a day early. Seems the humane thing to do, given his at-bats most of this season. Mike Fontenot will play his first big league game since May 25. And the cleanup man vs. Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey is … Nate the Great.

UPDATE: It’s official. Sandoval is replacing Jose Reyes on the roster, according to MLB. (It’s convoluted, but basically, it was Polanco’s injury that created the spot for the Panda.) The Giants are also saying that Sandoval will be designated as Bruce Bochy’s utility guy on the NL team, meaning he can return to the game after being removed. Two other offshoots: Sandoval ensures the Giants are not the first World Series champion since the 1965 Cardinals to lack a position player in the All-Star Game the following year. And with five All-Stars, the Giants have their greatest player contingent since the 1966 squad sent six — Hart, Mays, McCovey, Haller, Marichal, Perry.

Pablo Sandoval will be named an NL All-Star shortly, according to the Twitter account of the Panda’s brother, Michael.

Sandoval will replace the Phillies’ Placido Polanco, who was voted the starter at third base by fans but is not in the lineup today because of a stiff back. Aramis Ramirez was another consideration, but the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullival reported that Ramirez already had plans to go to the Dominican Republic for the break. Continue Reading →

In for Baggs tonight, who was in the park working on a special All-Star Game story while I covered the game …

Entertaining game Saturday night, albeit another one where the offense was lacking as usual. The Giants scored all three of their runs on ground balls that just as easily could have been double plays. String the three grounders together and they probably wouldn’t measure the distance of Pablo Sandoval’s first-inning double into the left-field corner. But these are your 2011 Giants, resourceful to the max in carving out 51 first-half wins heading into Sunday’s finale before the All-Star Game. Somehow, they continue to find a way.

Want to know what left the ballpark faster than Brian Wilson’s 3-2 cutter to Scott Hairston in the ninth inning?

Well … Wilson. He dressed quickly and made a hasty exit before reporters were allowed to enter. That might not be a big deal to you, but it’s a red flag among those of us in the media. Accountability is part of being a professional, no matter your job description. Continue Reading →

Updating with some comments from Larry Baer about the possibility of adding to the payroll.

Carlos Beltran is here at AT&T Park and in the lineup, playing right field for the New York Mets. It’s not impossible to imagine Beltran reporting to the home clubhouse as a Giant within the 24 days leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

There are many impediments to a deal. But as long as the Giants remain in contention, Beltran said his no-trade clause wouldn’t be one of them. Continue Reading →

I can’t imagine why Dan Brown sent me a nasty text message tonight. He got to cover one of the best games of the season Wednesday — 14 innings of strikeout milestones, a gem of a defensive play by Pablo Sandoval, some fine running catches by Andres Torres and walk-off magic in the form of Nate Schierholtz’s home run deep into the night.

I came back on the beat today and drew a two-hour, 14-minute game. Bad for beer sales. Great for reporters on deadline.

Like I mentioned, I can’t for the life of me figure out why I got the text-message stankeye. Continue Reading →